Jason Lee reveals slim-down and Chipmunk childhood

Sara McGinnis is a slightly mossy Northwest gal living in an otherwise all-male household. She contributes to both the BabyCenter Blog and SheKnows Entertainment, and is a fan of Twitter and Facebook friends.
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

Has Jason Lee lost weight? The newly slimmed-down actor has opened up about his lifestyle change -- and his lifelong love for Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Jason Lee is looking slim, trim and a whole lot less'Earl' these days. The change, a 35-pound weight loss, came about for a number of reasons. The former My Name is Earl actor revealed why he decided to change his habits at a recent interview promoting his latest film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.

Jason Lee, who reprises his role as Dave Seville for the third time in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, had a great time playing Earl Hickey on television -- but doesn't want to look like his mustachioed, love-handled character forever.

"I gave up a lot of things and started exercising," the 41-year-old explained of his weight loss. "I used to smoke cigarettes and we all like our wine and beer and things like that. I gave all that up and I just got on a very strict diet and started exercising, cycling and running, I dropped about 35 pounds."

The father of 8-year-old son Pilot Inspektor and 3-year-old daughter Casper, who has recently appeared on NBC's sitcom Up All Night, continued, "I'm 41 now and I have kids and I want to keep working. And I like being able to be fit enough to be diverse as an actor. The 'Earl' thing was great. It totally worked being a little frumpy and mustache-y. But, I think it makes things like Up All Night a little bit more realistic if I'm not the sort of portlier Earl… And yes, it feels great. It really feels great to have a good, clean diet."

As for his personal history with Alvin and Chipmunks, long before Jason Lee first screamed "Alvinnnnn!" as Dave Seville he was saving up his allowance to rock out.

The actor, who says he used to watch the cartoon series on Saturday morning television, shared, "I'd buy their records as a kid, too. I remember buying Chipmunk Punk. That had Blondie on it. And what else did it have on it? It had, randomly, 'M-M-My Sharona, duh, duh, duh, uh-uh.' I remember saving up and buying that."